Question

A batsman hits a sweep short in the game of cricket. What is the nature of force experienced by the ball during the impact?
A. Balanced force
B. Unbalanced force
C. Both Balanced force and Unbalanced force
D. Neither Balanced force not Unbalanced force

Answer 1

Hint: As we know, the motion of an object will not change if the forces pushing or pulling the object are balanced but if an unbalanced force acting on an object which moves then it could make the object change direction or stop moving.

Complete Step-by-Step solution:
When a cricketer hits the ball then there is a collision between the bat and the ball. And we know if an object of mass m strikes it experiences a force, which changes the velocity of the objects, which gives change in momentum of the system.
As we know, linear momentum is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. And also, it is a vector quantity which possesses a magnitude and a direction. If an object's having mass m and velocity v is given, then the object's momentum is defined as:
${\text{P = mv}}$, where, P is linear momentum, m is mass of objects, v is velocity

During impact, the direction of the ball and its speed changes. Hence, momentum changes. Thus, an unbalanced force is applied on the ball.
So, we conclude that the nature of force experienced by the ball during the impact is only Unbalanced force.
Therefore, option (B) is the correct answer.

Note- Momentum describes the impact that a moving vehicle has on an object that it hits or the penetrative power of a speeding bullet. When the object travels at a constant speed, its momentum will conserve. Similarly, when two objects collide, they again their overall momentum is conserved. Momentum will change only if external force applied on a system.